Mausoleum of Pianura

In a flat, sun-bleached field near Pianura stands the ruin of a Roman tomb, a two-storey mausoleum built from neat blocks of yellow tufa. It originally sat within a walled enclosure, of which the north, west and south sides remain. The south wall is notably thicker, carrying a surviving flight of fourteen masonry steps that once led to the upper floor, now only short stubs of wall mark its corners, suggesting a square room above.

The ground floor is more legible, though partly lost. One square chamber remains, its doorway blocked and inaccessible. Next to it, the west wall survives, divided by a short, off-centre partition into two bays, 2.64 and 1.50 metres wide. Resting on this partition are the scant remains of two barrel vaults, made from concrete with tufa chips bound in mortar. A horizontal course of tiles marks where the vaults spring; in the smaller vault, tiles are set radially on edge. A small window in the west wall once lit the blocked chamber, a glimpse of the careful, functional design that defined such Roman funerary architecture.

Description via source. Coordinates and heritage data from the Atika atlas.